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Saint Soldiers
The creation of the Khalsa marks the culmination of more than 200 years of training given by the ten Gurus to their Sikhs. The Khalsa was to be a saint-soldier - perfect in all respects and highly moral and excellent in character. They were to be ready for defending freedom of faith and conscience and for showing kindness and chivalry to the weak and oppressed. They were never to turn their backs to their enemies or to leave the poor and the helpless unaided. That the Khalsa admirably lived up to these ideals is amply borne out by the eloquent testimonies of both friends and foes alike.
During the Battle of Panipat, the invading forces of the Abdali abducted 2200 young girls. When the Sikhs came to know about it, they rushed to their rescue, and then saw every one of them to their homes - some as far away as Maharashtra. Historian M.J Brown acknowledges that such an act was the greatest example of chivalry and kindliness.
Qazi Nur Mohammed, who accompanied the Abdali on his seventh invasion of India and had the opportunity to observe the Sikh character personally, had this to say about them in his book ‘Jang Nama’:
"Truly they (the Sikhs) are like lions in battle and they surpass Hatim in generosity in times of peace. Leaving aside their mode of fighting, hear ye another point in which they excel all other fighting people: In no case would they slay a coward or would they put obstacles in the way of a fugitive. They do not plunder the wealth or ornaments of a woman, be she a well-to-do lady or a humble servant. There is no adultery among them nor are they given to thieving..."
Another observer, Ali-ud-Din, wrote:
"When in AD 1807, during the course of a battle with the Sikhs near Sialkot, the Afghan general Jahan Khan fled from the field leaving behind a number of Muslim women who fell into the hands of the Sikhs, they escorted them all safely to their homes."
Also, in the early 1920s, C.F Andrew saw in the agitating Sikhs at Guru Ka Bagh "the very spirit of Christ."
Few people in the annals of history can boast of such self-speaking and telling tributes, even from their foes.
In ‘A History of the Sikhs’, Cunningham writes:
"A living spirit of the Khalsa possess the whole Sikh people, and the impress of Guru Gobind Singh has not only elevated and altered the constitution of their mind but has operated materially and given amplitude to their physical frames."
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